


Snow Day

by shadyfiction



Category: Eminem (Musician)
Genre: F/M, Julieverse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-23
Updated: 2017-03-23
Packaged: 2018-10-09 18:06:54
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10418070
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadyfiction/pseuds/shadyfiction
Summary: This is a "Julie's Story" side fic/one-shot originally posted on shadyfiction.com for the March 2014 Page-a-Day fic challenge. Incomplete.





	

She looked up from drying Hailie’s hair to find Marshall standing in the doorway, shifting from foot to foot impatiently. His eyes were focused on her in that intense-but-not-all-there way that signaled too much going on in his head at one time. “What’s up?” she asked over the noise of the hair dryer.

“I lost the piece of paper I was writing on, and Chrissy got upset about something and ran to her room. Rach went to see what it was, and I ain’t seen either one of them since. You want me to check? And have you seen my paper? It was just plain notebook paper and the page was almost full. There was a drawing on one side. What do you think the thing with Chris is about? I thought she was just doing homework.”

“Your paper’s on the side table in the living room. I moved it out of the kitchen and forgot to tell you. Sorry.”

“Girls?” was all he said. She turned the hair dryer off.

“I want a braid. You promised,” Hailie reminded her. She looked over at Marshall, her little eyebrows squished together in annoyance. “You’re letting the cold air in, Daddy.”

“Sorry, Hai.” He stepped into the still-steamy bathroom and started to pull the door shut, but Julie waved him off.

“I’ll check on the girls as soon as I’m done here. Go back to writing.” She opened the drawer in Hailie’s vanity and took out a comb and a small elastic. “Just one, right?”

The little girl nodded. “A fishtail.”

Marshall was still standing there, watching. “Was there something else?” she asked.

“Huh? Nah.” He shook whatever it was off. “I’ll be downstairs if you need me. Hai, make sure you thank Julie for being your personal stylist, okay?”

Hailie rolled her eyes. “Okay.”

When the door shut again, Hailie sighed and said, “Finally.” Julie laughed.

“It does feel cold out there compared to in here. I’ll check the thermostat when I go downstairs.” She combed Hai’s hair until it was smooth and then pulled the first section. When she was done, she sent her to put on a sweatshirt over her pajamas and quickly cleaned up the bathroom. “I need to talk to Chrissy for a minute, Hai,” she said, walking out into her bedroom with a basket full of wet towels. It never took less than four bath sheets to get all the water off the floor.

“Are we still gonna play Candyland?” She looked up from the pile of clothes she’d taken out of her dresser. 

“Sure.” Julie nodded to the pale blue sweater in her left hand. “That one matches your PJs better.” Hailie dropped the yellow one in her opposite hand and put the blue one on. “You’re gonna put all that back, right?”

Hailie shot her the stink eye and said something to the effect of yes. It was hard to pay attention when she morphed into Marshall like that. She saw bits of herself in Rachel and Chrissy sometimes, but this was different. And it was fascinating as long as she slammed the door on any thoughts about her own blood ties. “I’ll see you downstairs then. We can play on the coffee table; I think your dad’s using the kitchen table.”

She started to leave, but then Hailie said, “Don’t let him eat all the cookies.”

“What?”

“Lulu’s Sugarboogers. They’re his favorite and last time he ate so many he got a tummy ache.”

“Sugarboogers?” 

“Yep.”

She had no idea what the hell a Sugarbooger was, but Lulu _had_ made cookies that afternoon. “Um, okay. Sugarbooger moderation. Got it.”

Hailie nodded vigorously and Julie left her to fold her clothes and put them away. She dropped the basket of towels in the hallway so she wouldn’t forget them and walked down to Chrissy’s room. She could hear the girls talking, but when she knocked and said, “It’s me,” they stopped. She heard a bunch of movement like they were hiding something, and then Chrissy called out for her to come in.

#

She went in with an open mind. It took some effort, though. The two of them trying to hide something from her was rarely a good sign. They were on the bed together, sort of huddled in the middle of a mess that could only be described as organized chaos. On one side was clothes, then a couple of collapsed towers of CDs, Chrissy’s backpack, cellphone, laptop, a purse, another bag, and then it was all topped randomly with pages of sheet music. “Where do you sleep, Chris? Holy crap.”

Chrissy muttered something and snatched up a shirt. She folded it and picked up another, then folded that one too. She didn’t make eye contact. Julie looked to Rach, and Rach opened her mouth and then shut it, hesitating. “Chris? Are you going to tell her, or do you want me to?”

Julie stepped back enough to kick the door shut. She chose her words carefully because Chris still wasn’t looking at her, and that just wasn’t like her. “Whatever it is, we’ll deal with it. You know that, right?”

The girl’s shoulders curled in and she squeaked. She pulled her knees into her chest and wrapped her arms around them, but not before gesticulating at Rachel. Julie said a mental “fuck it” and went and sat down, pulling Chris in to hug her. Rach met her gaze and she knew she wasn’t going to like it, whatever it was.

“There’s a girl at school that’s got it in for her. She’s been spreading a lot of crap, saying Chrissy’s a slut, and now her cell phone number is out. Some guys are calling her and leaving messages, most of them anonymous, none of them nice, and they somehow got her email today too.” Rachel paused.

“It’s all lies! I swear!” Chris added.

Julie jerked back, shocked. “Of course it’s lies. Did you think I’d believe that shit?” she blurted.

“Someone Photoshopped her face into an X-rated photo.”

She’d been giving herself points for staying relatively calm, but that went out the window as soon as Rach said “Photoshopped.” They locked eyes, and there was a moment of silent understanding. Someone was going to pay. “Let me see it.”

Chrissy shot off the bed and announced she needed to use the bathroom. She bolted from the room, and Rach pulled her laptop out from where it was partially wedged under a pillow and some other stuff. She opened the lid and turned it around, not saying a word.

Julie glanced at the photo. It was obviously from a porno or something, but whoever did the Photoshop job had some skill with it. “Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”

Rachel shifted position on the bed and stretched her legs out. “I knew she had a problem with this chick, but I didn’t know what was being said until a couple of days ago when Lucas got in my face. And this photo is new. I told her we needed to tell you as soon as I saw it, but she freaked out. I’ve been trying to calm her down.”

Julie nodded, though it didn’t sit well that Chrissy hadn’t come straight to her. “Lucas?”

Rach sighed. “Yeah. He’s the thorn in my side, but he shut some of those guys down hard on Tuesday. He acts like she’s his little sister or something.”

“I’m beginning to feel torn between liking him and wanting to take out a restraining order. Does he make you uncomfortable?”

“Nah. I know what you’re getting at, but I don’t think he’s actual stalker material. I’d cut my tongue out before I admitted it to him, but he went up two points in the polls this week. I’m pretty sure he kicked Harrison Sterling’s ass.”

“Who’s that?”

“He’s a senior. Total jerk, but he’s on the football team, has rich parents blah, blah, blah, so he’s popular. Throws a lot of parties. He was all over Chrissy yesterday.”

“And what’s the girl’s name? What’s her problem with Chris?”

“Tiffany something or other. She tried getting chummy with her after it came out we live with Marshall. Chrissy didn’t fall for it, and now she’s on her shitlist.”

#

“You gotta be fucking kidding me! Are you kidding me?” Marshall threw his pen down and ripped the laptop out of her hands. She didn’t take it personally.

“I was thinking I’d call Mike. If it weren’t for the photo I’d go to the school, but-.”

He shoved his chair back and stood up. The fury rolling off of him was almost a physical thing, like if she reached out with her hand she’d be able to feel it. “Marsh? Don’t go up the stairs yelling. She almost didn’t tell me. I don’t know if she’s just really embarrassed or-.”

He took a couple of deep breaths and walked out of the room, obviously trying to look calm. There wasn’t a calm bone in his body, though. Julie ran after him and tried to slow him down, but they were outside Chrissy’s room in under a minute. He knocked twice, his knuckles hitting the wood with a loud crack. “Marshall!” she hissed, but he spoke over her.

“It’s Dad, Chrissy, you didn’t do anything wrong. Open the door.”

The door flew open and Chrissy launched herself at Marshall while Julie and Rach gaped at each other. Rach mouthed the word “Dad?” at her, but all she could do was stare. Chrissy was crying and Marshall was soothing her and Julie was just...floored.

#

Rachel left to check on Hailie, and Marshall walked Chrissy over to her bed where they sat down. Julie closed the door and hovered, not sure what she should do. Marshall continued to speak in low tones, gradually calming Chrissy down, and Julie moved quietly and started to clean up the mess. She took all the CDs off the bed and moved them to a shelf where she put them in alphabetical order. When that was done, she started to hang clothes in the closet.

“I can do that,” Chrissy croaked, finally coming up for air. Julie shook her head and picked up a pair of jeans. She folded them and put them in the dresser.

“You still wanna call Mike?” Marshall asked.

She looked over. The corners of his mouth were tight, and though he appeared to be in perfect control she wasn't fooled. “Yeah. I think it’s the best place to start.”

“I’m sorry,” Chris said. Her bottom lip was trembling again, and Marshall’s arm tightened around her. Julie finished straightening a stack of sheet music and set it on the bedside table. She waited until Chrissy looked at her to say anything.

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I thought you’d be mad at me.”

“What? Why would I be mad?”

“You told me to be careful!” she cried. “I only gave my number to my best friends, but-.” She stopped. “And I knew Tiffany was just trying to be friends because of Marshall. I played dumb, but she got so pissed, and then I didn’t wanna tell you because something is always going wrong and I’m always the one you have to go to school for, and-.”

She burst into tears again and Marshall just kind of turned his body a little and tucked her into his shoulder.

“Chrissy, sweetie, I don’t care how many times I have to go to school. And the only reason I never go for Rachel is because Rachel is sneaky as shit. She could be running guns out of her AP English class and no one would know.”

Marshall snorted and then laughed a little, and Chrissy looked up. “We’ll get this straightened out, okay?”

“Okay.”

#

Marshall stayed with Chrissy while Julie went to call Mike. She lucked out and caught him at his desk, and he insisted on driving out to the house. After she gave him directions, they disconnected. She drummed her fingers on her husband’s desk, then sat back and took a few deep breaths. It didn’t help much. She knew she couldn’t protect the girls from all the shit life had to offer, but this? 

“You okay?”

Marshall was propped up against the door frame. She hadn’t even heard him walk down the hall. “Yeah. I’m just kind of sick to my stomach. You?”

“I wanna kill something.”

She nodded in perfect understanding. “Mike will be here within an hour. He’s going to put a call in to the local FBI office too.”

Marshall straightened. “FBI? What for?”

“He said because Chrissy’s a minor and the photo’s explicit, it could be considered child pornography even though it was Photoshopped. He’s not positive, though.”

“Makes sense I guess.”

She jerked her head in the direction of the stairs. “Has she calmed down at all?”

“Maybe a little. I took her phone and promised I’d get her a new one tomorrow. I know the police will probably want it, and I’ma need to change the number anyway.”

#

“What about the laptop?”

“I left it in the other room. They might want it too, I don’t know.”

He walked around the desk and sat on the corner. “You got your thinkin’-real-hard face on. You sure you’re okay?”

She tipped back in the chair a little and thought about it. “Chrissy used to tell me everything. I can’t believe it went this far without her saying one single word about this chick. And I know I went along with it, but I don’t really follow why she thought either one of us would be mad at her.”

“Think about it, baby. Her world’s been turned upside down. One minute she’s living in a rat infested shithouse-.”

She glared at him. “We didn’t have rats.”

He did that eyebrow thing that made her want to bite him. “I’m just saying a lot’s gone down in a short time. She’s still nervous with me sometimes. Not nervous like she thinks I’ma backhand her, but nervous like she’s gonna screw things up or something.”

Put like that, it made some sense. “You think that’s why she lost it when you yelled ‘Dad’s not pissed’ or whatever?”

“Yeah. You said it yourself not that long ago. She wants my approval. She wants to belong. In some ways I think it’s harder for her than it is for Hai.”

“What? Why?”

He shifted on the desk and caught her chair, pulling her in closer so he could prop his feet on the side. “Because before she went batshit insane, Hailie had a mom. Mom has always been Mom and Dad has always been Dad. Chrissy’s mom has always been Julie.”

She shrugged. “I guess so, yeah.”

“But now she’s got me and Hai too, and she wants to be a normal family. She wants me to be the dad. Her dad. But she don’t know how to go about it, and I think she feels silly. Like it’s stupid or something.”

“She knows we’re too young to pass for her real parents-.”

“Do you really give a fuck if someone does the math and looks at us funny?”

“Well, no, but-.”

“If you all had lived with decent people, a couple that were married, would you have wished they were your parents?”

That stopped her cold. She blinked up at him, remembering all the times she’d thought about it when she was younger. She’d never admitted it to anyone, but she had wished. She’d absolutely wished.

“Would it have mattered how old they were?”

She shook her head, and Marshall reached down and scooped her up out of the chair so that she was standing between his legs. He wrapped his arms around her and held her like that for a minute. “Sorry. I know I’m pushing...it’s been bugging me, though.”

“Don’t let it go to your head, but you’re better at this than I am sometimes.”

He snorted. “Right. Says the woman that won my daughter over in a single afternoon. Give me ten years and I might graduate from assmonkey to merely retarded as far as Rach is concerned.”

#

Julie went to the door when Mike arrived. A blast of cold air swept in with him, and he stood in place and looked around while she hung his coat in the closet. “Thanks for coming to the rescue. Again.”

Marshall came from the kitchen and through the dining room, stepping into the hallway just as she was about to take Mike into the living room. He walked over and the two men shook hands and said hello. 

“Mike, can I get you some coffee?” Julie asked.

“That’d be great.”

Marshall pointed in the direction he’d come from. “Why don’t we just use the kitchen? Girls wanna say hi anyway and everyone’s in there.”

“Okay.” She led the way and Marshall fell into step beside her, his hand a firm weight on the small of her back. “You got Chrissy to come downstairs?”

“Yeah. Uh, I told her she could stay home from school a few days until things calm down. You’re okay with that, right?”

She nodded. “I didn’t think of it, or I would have said something. I’m not sure I even want Rach going tomorrow.” She walked into the kitchen and then stepped to the side. “Look who’s here,” she said when Mike and Marshall followed.

“I don’t know him,” Hailie said.

“This is my friend Mike. He’s a police officer. Mike, this is my stepdaughter, Hailie.”

“Hi Mike!” Hai said with enthusiasm. 

“Hi there, Hailie,” he returned.

Rach got up from her chair and walked over. “Hey.”

Mike held his arms out and Rach gave him a hug. “Girl, I think you grown about a foot.”

She laughed, and Chrissy got up and shuffled over. “Hi, Mike,” she said quietly.

“C’mere, sweetheart.” He hugged her too. “We’re gonna put a stop to this stuff at school, you know. It’s gonna be alright.”

She nodded, tearing up, and he patted her back. “It will be. Wait and see. I can always turn Mama Bear loose if I need to.”

“Very funny,” Julie said, pulling a chair out for him. Everyone got comfortable at the table while she went and put coffee on. Hailie peppered Mike with questions about catching bad guys for a few minutes, and she brought coffee over along with a plate of cookies when it was done brewing. “Have a Sugarbooger. Our housekeeper made them-.” She stopped. “What?”

Marshall was trying not to laugh. He was covering his mouth with his hand, but he was shaking all over. “Sugarbooger?”

She looked at Hailie, and the little girl just shrugged. “Hailie told me they’re your favorite. Lulu’s Sugarboogers.”

He tried not to smile. “Snickerdoodles, baby. They’re Snickerdoodles.”

“Well that’s a relief. I already had three,” Rachel deadpanned. Even Chrissy smiled a little. 

Mike sipped his coffee and took a cookie. “Never met a cookie I didn’t like.” He winked at Hailie. “Even the ones with boogers.”

“They don’t have real boogers.”

“Again, a relief,” Rachel said.

“Now that everybody’s said hi, why don’t you girls take your game in the other room?” Marshall suggested, and Chrissy froze. Rach reached for Hailie’s Candyland board, carefully picking it up.

“Hai, why don’t you grab us a couple of those cookies?” she suggested.

Hai took her time selecting three cookies and getting three napkins. She followed Rach from the room when she left, but Chrissy still hadn’t moved. Marshall got up and went over to her, speaking quietly. After a minute she stood up. He hugged her and walked her as far as the doorway. After she left he got her laptop off the counter and sat down again.

“She’s really upset,” Mike observed.

“You’ll see why in a minute,” he said, lifting the lid. 

#

“Anybody looked outside lately?” Marshall asked.

Hailie’s head popped up, and Rach and Chris glanced over. They were playing Hai’s game on the coffee table. “What is it, Dad?”

“Go look.”

She zoomed past and a second later there was a lot of yelling followed by something that sounded suspiciously like cartwheels in the hallway. “Go get her before she breaks her neck, and I’ll fill them in,” Julie said, indicating Rach and Chrissy.

“Okay.” Marshall turned to leave, and she went inside and sat down on the oversized couch. “Mike took your laptop and your cell,” she told Chrissy. “Marshall’s going to replace them tomorrow, and you’ll get a new number. We want you to sign up for a new email account too.”

Chrissy’s bottom lip started to tremble and Rach put an arm around her. Julie continued. “Mike’s going to speak to the school superintendent, but it’s just a formality. Whoever did the photo mashup is in deep shit. There’s only so much he can do about the harassment, but he’s going to give your phone to the lab so they can try and get names.” She paused. “You okay?”

Chrissy nodded, but she was crying again. Julie got up and went to grab a box of tissues. When she came back she sat down on the floor next to her. “It’s snowing really hard. I think school’s probably going to be canceled tomorrow-.”

“Really?” Rach interrupted. “Oh, hallelujah. I’ll have a three day weekend to finish that stupid paper for...oh, sorry.”

“...so it’ll probably be Monday before we can go in and talk to the principal.”

Chris looked up from blowing her nose. “Everybody’s gonna hate me.”

“No they won’t,” Rach said firmly, speaking up before Julie could say anything. “The ones that get in trouble are going to be pissed for sure, but don’t forget you have me, my friends, your friends, Lucas, the band geeks, and a buttload of Marshall’s fans on your side. They’re not all like Tiffany, you know.”

Marshall chose that moment to come back in. He was carrying Hailie upside down and she was giggling like a maniac. “If worse comes to worse, we’ll put you in private school. I don’t think it’s gonna be necessary, though.” He flipped Hai back around and she hung from his neck like a monkey.

“Why are they picking on Chrissy, Daddy?”

“They’re jealous.”

“‘Cause she’s pretty?”

“And smart.”

Chrissy got up and tossed her used tissues in the trash, then returned to her spot on the floor between Julie and Rachel. She made a disgusted sound. “I’m not smart. I’m gonna be in dummy math next year at the rate I’m going.”

Julie looked at Rach. “Dog pile?”

Rach grinned.

“No!” Chrissy yelped, but they’d already landed on her and taken her down to the floor in a wriggling mass of arms and legs.

“What the hell are you doing?” Marshall asked.

“We’re hugging her until she laughs, and if that doesn’t work, she gets the tickle monster,” Julie said in all seriousness.

“No!” Chrissy said again.

“Can I play?” Hailie wanted to know.

“Sure, come on,” Rach invited.

“Will you _stop_?” Chris yelled.

Marshall came closer. “Um, ya know, maybe this isn’t the best time. She wants you to stop.”

Hailie landed somewhere in the middle and blew a raspberry on Chrissy’s cheek. Julie laughed.

“She won’t last much longer. Resistance is futile.”

“I’m serious, get off her.”

Hai was the first to relent. Rach looked over at Julie and rolled her eyes. She did her best Schwarzenegger voice and said, “It’s the party pooper.”

Chrissy stopped struggling and a startled laugh slipped out. Julie and Rachel let her go and they all sat up. “Happy now?”

He ignored the jab from Rach, walked over and sat on the couch. “Ya wanna sit with me? I’ll protect you from those two.”

Hailie took a flying leap onto the couch and into her dad’s arms. “C’mon Chrissy,” she said. Chrissy scrambled up and sat on his other side.

Julie sighed. “We’re outgunned.”

“And outclassed,” Marshall added.

#


End file.
